Thor: Ragnarok

Score:  A

Directed by Taika Waititi
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Cate Blanchett
Running time: 130 minutes
Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  Thor: Ragnarok is a load of fun, utterly overhauling one of Marvel's more "serious" Avengers.  Old frenemies Thor and Loki step up their game for this one, with a big assist from Hulk and a bevy of interesting new characters.  Perhaps the funniest Marvel film yet, it still retains the overall Marvel universe feel as well as its high level of quality.  Essential theater viewing for Marvel/superhero fans, and highly recommended for anyone else, too.


While continuing his search for the Infinity Stones - powerful artifacts that have begun appearing mysteriously in the Avengers' paths - Thor (Hemsworth) discovers that his father, Odin (Hopkins), is no longer ruling their homeworld of Asgard.  Thor returns and finds that his adopted brother, Loki (Hiddleston), has been disguising himself as Odin and ruling in his place.  Thor forces Loki to take him to their father, on Earth.  The aging man speaks to his sons for the last time, warning that his death will release their sister, Hela (Blanchett), a powerful force locked away and kept secret after betraying Odin long ago.  Hela confronts her brothers and easily overpowers them; when they try to flee back to Asgard, she sends them tumbling deep into space, and goes to Asgard herself to set her plans in motion.  Finding himself on a strange planet and at the bottom of the food chain, Thor must figure out how to free himself and return to Asgard in order to prevent a catastrophe.

Thor: Ragnarok benefits greatly from a talented cast, one with many familiar faces and almost all of whom get to show off impressive comedic chops.  Chris Hemsworth naturally leads the way as Thor, this being his character's third "solo" film.  Although there is a lot of noise around him, Hemsworth shows continued development, in particular his impressive comedic timing.  There is still a little bit of the imperious Norse god element, but it is much reduced; he is brought down to much more relatable earth by his various partnerships with others, vulnerable circumstances, and most of all the consistent use of good, self-effacing humor.  Still very much unique, Thor now feels much more like an Avenger than ever before (in a good way).  Fortunately, Tom Hiddleston's Loki gets a significant role again, and his character also makes a similarly dramatic shift to the comedic.  A frenemy from the start, this change also suits Loki quite well, as he's not a full-on "bad guy" (though he retains some significant scenes of sneakiness and treachery).  Mark Ruffalo's Hulk gets some interesting material to work with, and credit to the actor (and script) for his great chemistry with Hemsworth while not stealing the spotlight.  Cate Blanchett unsurprisingly does a superb job as the villain, easily conveying a sense of great power and menace but keeping it well within the bounds of this film's lighter tone.  There are plenty of other great parts: Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie is a great new heroine with a swagger to match her power, Jeff Goldblum is an expectedly (and hilariously) bizarre ruler of his equally strange planet, Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange makes a brief but fantastic appearance, and there's even a surprise A-list cameo.

Thor: Ragnarok on the surface is a throw everything at the wall and see what sticks approach to the superhero genre, but it somehow works tremendously as an action comedy that still manages to advance the Marvel universe's story, too.  While the first two Thor films were solid and entertaining, they were also a bit too sober for their own good (and thus out of place at Marvel).  Well, Ragnarok is certainly no tentative step in the other direction.  I'm not sure that two minutes go by without an overt attempt at humor here - a remarkable amount of which works, and I laughed out loud quite a bit.  There is all kinds of comedy, from slapstick to the more subtle, from self-referential (and self-effacing) to broad, all of it contributing to what is one of the most fun Marvel films yet - an impressive feat.  Yet Ragnarok also does not simply fall into parody, nor does it throw away the chance to advance a compelling story.  It takes advantage of its characters' great powers (several of them are literally gods) to "believably" create enjoyable but not rules-busting silliness (to Loki's frequent chagrin).  While the story structure is not new, it is a good fit for this world; the stakes are appropriately high (but not a burden) and provide Thor excellent challenges not only to his strength but to his character.  In a weaker film, I would have rolled my eyes at the climax, but here it is well-earned, fun, and ends in a truly unique and interesting way.  With all the good humor, interesting characters and new tone for the world, the signature Marvel action is practically an after thought (but still good, particularly the Thor-v-Hulk gladiator rumble).

***

I knew that Thor: Ragnarok was going to be a departure in some way from the previous films, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much different - and how well it was done.  We can surely thank Guardians of the Galaxy for opening the door for it, but Ragnarok manages to be even better (especially important due to the belly flop that was Guardians 2).  I've sung Marvel's praises before, but they keep delivering the goods to deserve some more.  The director, Waititi, is a largely unknown filmmaker who certainly has not done any big franchise work before, but he turned out to be a perfect choice here, bringing a sorely needed fresh perspective to Thor's world yet retaining the high quality of the Marvel universe and allowing it to fit in with its kin.  As with all Marvel films, it's most enjoyable if you've seen the others, but even for newcomers, this should be a tremendously entertaining time at the cinema.




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